Digital, real time, your control & fully controllable

                         Understanding Building Automation and Control Systems

• Building Automation Systems (BAS) are centralized, interlinked networks of hardware and software either wired or wireless, which monitor and control the inside environment of commercial, industrial, and/or institutional facilities. Whether a church, car dealership, museum, theater, store, school or any business that has HVAC and lighting, these all have potential for energy consumption that is creeping up. Informing yourself and considering automation whether at entry level or full enterprise could help in your overall facility management.
• 86% of total energy costs are consumed in HVAC & lighting. Thermostat control does not control enough for human comfort only temperature. Relative Humidity managing, whether a single building or multiple building enterprises, the automation system ensures the best energy efficient operational performance of the facility as well as the comfort and safety of building occupants.

Typically, such control systems are installed in new buildings, or as part of a renovation, where they replace an outdated control system. However retrofitting in most cases is a very viable possibility.

85% of energy consumption today is from HVAC & lighting, manage your energy better while allowing individual, regional or zone control for comfort. The two largest considerations of comfort are temperature and humidity.

 Terms & Acronyms used

You may hear any of the following terms to describe the control or automation of buildings:

• Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS), Building Control System (BCS), and/or Building Management System (BMS)—same as “Building Automation System”.
• Controls—This term is appropriate in describing discrete devices that control particular pieces of equipment or processes.
• Direct Digital Control (DDC)—describes the communication method used in modern devices (hardware and software). Collectively, DDC products control various building systems and form the automation system.
• Energy Management System (EMS)—generally understood to be the same as a “Building Automation System” but may have special emphasis on energy metering/monitoring.
• Energy Management and Control System—well, you’re getting the idea!  Same as BACS, BMS, etc.
• Smart (Intelligent) Building—a building equipped with a data-rich BAS.
• “Internet of things”, a term used more and more within todays buildings.

Communication 

How the equipment communicates to / from sensors, equipment components, to a central management system. Some key words:

• Interoperability with BACnet, Wattmaster, oBIX protocols, Lonworks, Modbus.

What is Controlled?

Generally, building automation begins with control of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems. For instance, the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is almost always controlled, including control of its various pieces of equipment such as:

• Chillers: & Associated Mechanical and control components
• Boilers: & Associated Mechanical and control components
• Air Handling Units (AHUs)
• Roof-top Units (RTUs)
• Fan Coil Units (FCUs)
• Heat Pump Units (HPUs)
• Variable Air Volume boxes (VAVs)
• Entire building for heating and cooling and even lighting
• Multiple building enterprises

Lighting control is also an obvious need for optimizing building performance.

Other systems that are often controlled and/or brought under a complete automation system include:

• Power monitoring
• Security
• Close circuit video (CCTV)
• Card and keypad access
• Fire alarm system
• Elevators/escalators
• Plumbing and water monitoring

Types of Building Automation and Control Systems

Early control systems were pneumatic or air-based and were generally restricted to controlling various aspects of the HVAC system. Common pneumatic devices include controllers, sensors, actuators, valves, positioners, and regulators. Due to their large base of installation throughout the 1960s and 1970s, pneumatic control systems are still in place in a majority of existing buildings, especially in established metropolitan areas.

Analogue electronic controls, of devices became popular throughout the 1980s. They provided faster response and higher precision than earlier pneumatics.

However, it was not until digital control or DDC devices came on the scene in the 1990s that a true automation system was possible. However, as there were no established standards for this digital communication, various manufacturers, created their own (proprietary) communication methods.

The automation system was fully functional but was not “interoperable” or capable of mixing products from various manufacturers. Thus, a given building or portfolio could be “locked” into a specific manufacturer. This is not necessarily a problem unless the relationship with the associated service provider is challenging.

By the late 1990s and especially into the 2000s, movements were afoot to standardize on “open” communication systems. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) developed the BACnet communication protocol that eventually became the industry open standard.

What Does a BAS Look Like?

Most of the automation system is behind the scenes as hardware devices mounted to equipment or hidden underfloor or in the ceiling. Some personalized control can be made available through thermostat-like devices. From a central management perspective, the BAS resides as software on an operator workstation (computer) or is available as a web page.

Who Installs or Services a BAS?

A properly trained in-house staff can manage the operation and, sometimes, the maintenance of the BAS. However, system design and initial installation is almost always accomplished by controls professionals such as dedicated controls contractors or system integrators.

In practice, the controls contractor is a sub-contractor to the mechanical contractor. Sometimes, the mechanical contractor will have a dedicated controls division. Electrical contractors with controls teams are also common and multi-functional system integrators are becoming more common for today’s complex facilities.

These controls professionals can provide on-going service or train your in-house staff to self-perform service.

The automation system can also offer you an incredible amount of data related to building performance, and with this data in hand, you can make more intelligent decisions.

And, if you are building green, be aware that an automation system can contribute greatly to your ability to earn such recognition as the EPA ENERGY STAR or the LEED certification associated with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Lastly – Today’s BAS Trends

When the subject is intelligent buildings, you know that things don’t stand still. Here are a few trends influencing building automation:

• Wireless technology is beginning to replace traditionally wired BAS infrastructure. Thus far, however, the wireless technology is limited to sensor-type devices and suffers from issues including a lack of clear wireless standard, short battery life, and communication challenges through various types of building structures and materials.
• Enterprise-level initiatives are making the communication protocol of the BAS less important.
• While it is quite common to replace a pneumatic control system with a direct digital control (DDC) system, pneumatic-to-DDC bridging strategies also exist.
• More controls are coming to the construction site, factory pre-mounted to equipment.
• Hardware and software continues to be augmented by energy-related visuals.

There has been tremendous consolidation among BAS manufacturers, leaving relatively few independent players.

Give us a call if you are considering reducing your energy bill. Most return on investments are 36 – 48 months. 417-831-5980